Pranayama

Explore the three gunas Have you ever heard of the three gunas? The Samkhya philosophy describes the gunas as the threefold characteristics in it’s nature; in this sense every action, thought and event is created due to the interaction of the three gunas. All gunas are always present in all beings and objects surrounding us by...

Improve your concentration with pranayama Topic of all the previous articles was the 4th step of the eightfolded path: pranayama. I outlined what pranayama is. Also I’ll paid attention to physical and mental aspects of integrating pranayama in your daily life and I added breathing exercises I practise and might be beneficial for you...

What are the benefits of pranayama? In his book, Prana and Pranayama, Swami Niranjanda Saraswati writes: “In the yoga text is written that through pranayama one can control one’s circumstances and character and harmonize the individual life with the cosmic life. The aspirant who practises pranayama in a sustained manner will find that every aspect...

The koshas as map to balance yourself In his book Prana and Pranayama, Swami Niranjananda Saraswati, writes: One who identifies with anandamaya kosha is a yogi. He has evolved to the spiritual realm, where all the experiences are spiritual experiences’. Let’s try to understand this Swami. He writes: “However blockages in other koshas still exist...

Explore the koshas! When you go hiking in the Himalayan Mountains, you need a topography map showing the mountainous terrain. In Delhi City, you need to know the city blocks and major sites to orient yourself. Within yoga, a different guide is needed -one that charts the landscape of the Self-. The Koshas “layers” or...

Nadis In addition to the seven chacras of the subtle body, the scriptures have described a network of subtle channels known as nadis through which the life force (prana) circulates. The Sanskrit word nadi derives from the root nad, which means “flow”, “motion” or “ vibration”. References in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika place the number...

Clear the nadis and chacras with pranayama At pranic level, in their initial stage the practises of pranayama clear up the nadis, energy pathways in the body. The scriptures say there are over 72.000 nadis or pathways of prana in the pranic body and six main chacras. However, on the average individual, these pathways are...

Prana Let’s talk a bit more about prana. The Sanskrit word prana is a combinatation of two syllables, pra and na and denotes constancy, a force in constant motion. The chhandogya Upanishad (1.11:5) says: “ In prana all moveable and immoveable beings merge during dissolution and rise out of prana (during creation)”. Prana is the...

Kumbhaka: the yogic trip Personally I love to perform Kumbhaka. This is the moment when you hold your breath in between the inhalation and the exhalation. I remember, one of my yoga teachers nicknamed the effect of kumbhaka “ the yogic trip”. Why do we keep the breath out? What yogi say is, the period...

We can differentiate three types of breathing. 1.Clavicle breathing is the most shallow and worst possible type of breathing. The shoulders and collarbone are raised while the abdomen is contracted during inhalation. Maximum effort is made, but a minimum amount of air is obtained. 2.Thoracic breathing is done with the rib muscles expanding the rib...